Kuldeep Yadav won the Player of the Match for his 4/6 in 1st ODI vs West Indies.
West Indies was put into bat by Rohit Sharma who had won the toss and apart from captain Shai Hope’s 43 and Alick Athanaze’s 22, none of the Windies batters could cope with the slow and spin-friendly pitch at the venue as the hosts were bowled out for 114 in 23 overs.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with 4/6 in 3 overs, while Ravindra Jadeja picked 3/37.
In reply, Ishan Kishan led the charge with a half-century, while contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (19), Rohit Sharma (12*), and Ravindra Jadeja (16*) took India home in 22.5 overs with 5 wickets in hand.
The Indian bowlers were at the top of their game with even the pacers Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, and Mukesh Kumar picking a wicket each.
Kuldeep, who emerged as the pick of the bowlers in the 1st ODI, gave away 6 runs in his first over, but his next two overs turned out to be maidens as he rattled the Windies' batting with 4 wickets and was named the Player of the Match.
"Most of the times, when I don't get to play it is because of the situation and combination. It is a normal thing now. I have been playing cricket for so many years, it has been more than six years now. These things are normal," he told reporters during the post-match press conference.
“I don't think much about taking wickets now. My focus is more on the process of what length I should be bowling. Since the past one and half years, when I have returned from the injury, I have tried to bowl on those good lengths. I want to be more consistent with the length, and as far are wickets are concerned, on some days, you will get the wicket, while on others, you won't.
The situation is also very important. I try my variations only when the opposition has lost four or five wickets quickly,” he added.
WI v IND 2023: “Wanted to give time to our ODI players”- Rohit Sharma on him batting at no.7
The duo picked 135 wickets in 34 games together before form and injury made them part ways and now only one of them is preferred in the playing XI, with Kuldeep being chosen over Chahal in ODIs.
"We are pretty relaxed. We know that combination matters a lot. We have a good understanding. He helps me a lot when I am playing. He always wants me to give my best. At the same time, I also share my opinions, when he gets the chance to play. The 'Kul-Cha' has been done well over the years because we support each other,” he said.
Furthermore, he highlighted the work done by senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli along with coach Rahul Dravid and said that their support has kept his morale high.
Kuldeep said: "Seniors play a big role. When I brought the changes in my game, Virat bhai and Rohit bhai supported me a lot. They have shown confidence in me. Also, coach Rahul sir has backed me a lot."
(PTI inputs)